Pakistan's stock market tumbles as India-Pakistan tensions simmer
Islamabad, Apr 24 (PTI): Pakistan’s stock market on Thursday witnessed a sharp dip, with the benchmark KSE-100 index closing at 115,019.81, down by 2206.33 points from the last close, amid brewing tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Terrorists opened fire in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, killing 26 people, mostly tourists, in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack.
India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures, including suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the terror attack.
In retaliation, Pakistan also suspended bilateral trade and accords, including the Simla Agreement, and airspaces with India, among other moves.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) took the hit, and the KSE-100 index plunged by 2,485 points early in the session, dropping to 114,740 points.
As the day progressed, the market showed signs of slight recovery, narrowing the loss to 1196 points. By midday, the current index was at 116,030.02 points.
However, it nosedived again and finally closed at 115,019.81, down by 2,206.33 points, or 1.92 per cent.
The sharp dip comes after the market touched an all-time high, crossing the 120,000 mark earlier this year. Observers said the bearish trend is expected to dominate the market until there is a sign of improvement in the current political and security situation with India.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
